Bush comes to shove: Resources, terrorism and China in Africa
By Monique Theron (1)
From 15 to 21 February 2008, United States (US) President George W. Bush conducted what will be his last official Africa tour. The trip, which saw the US President visit 5 different countries, can be described as interest-guided and strategic.
With visits to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia (the first visit by a US president to that country in three decades), the choice of countries is significant, particularly since each is lead by what the US perceives as a new generation of democratic African leaders.
HEALTH, EDUCATION, GOVERNANCE
On an official, diplomatic level, the purpose of the visit was to highlight US support for health, education and good governance projects in Africa. This included PEPFAR and the Millennium Challenge Cooperation programme, two of the most successful projects implemented by Bush. PEPFAR or the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has, over the past 5 years, spent in excess of US$ 15 billion in mostly African countries; the Millennium Challenge Cooperation programme meanwhile has been instrumental in providing US aid and assistance packages to a number of African countries.
In Tanzania, Bush handed out mosquito nets as part of a US programme to reduce malaria deaths, and signed a US$ 698 million grant deal to Tanzania under the Millennium Challenge Cooperation initiative to fund infrastructure development. Similarly, in Liberia, Bush donated one million textbooks and desks for 10,000 school children.
Although the diplomatic angle of the visit to Africa highlighted US-supported success stories on the continent, it also side-stepped what some perceive to be systematic damages to African development caused by unjust US economic policies.
A five-day visit is unlikely to change Africa’s perception of US policies and actions, such as those formed following the US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. The visit also avoided current conflicts zones on the continent, such as those in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Chad and Kenya. Although the US has been reluctant to become fully involved in peacekeeping on the continent, it has, for example assisted with training of new armed forces and security sector reform. In Liberia, the US has spent US$ 139 million on training the country’s new armed forces. It is significant that at the end of Bush’s term, his administration does not want to become entangled in Africa’s protracted conflicts, but would rather step in to help during the post-reconstruction phase. During his visit to Liberia, Bush pledged that the United States would help to rebuild the country.
AFRICA - THE NEW CHESSBOARD
Despite, the US government’s portrayal of Bush’s trip as a philanthropic venture the visit had evident political and economic overtones. These largely revolved around the US’ 3 main strategic interests in Africa - resources, terrorism and China’s growing influence.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s US interest in Africa was primarily based on Cold War considerations. During the early 1990’s, the end of the Cold War coupled with the US’ bad experiences in Africa and rising afro-pessimism led to a cut back in involvement in the continent. Only in the late 1990’s and especially following the September 11 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks did the US renew its interest in Africa. If the Soviet Union drove US interests in Africa during the Cold War era, it is reasonable to argue that, in addition to terrorism concerns, China is driving those interests in the continent today. With both the US and China having growing energy needs, Bush’s Africa visit was possibly designed to send a signal to Beijing that America’s presence and influence on the continent is still here.
Considering that Bush’s term in office is coming to an end in January 2009, one has to ask whether a change of administration in the White House will influence US policy and involvement in Africa. Analysts believe that the next administration will continue to prioritise Africa, with the continent becoming increasingly important to US, especially when considering predictions that West Africa alone will produce 25% of America’s oil by 2015.
In addition to the US energy resource needs, security concerns also guide its interest in Africa. The events of 9/11 now dominate US foreign policy and will inevitably have implications for Africa, especially countries with significant Muslim populations. The proposed new unified command for US military operations in Africa (AFRICOM), an issue that was discussed again during Bush’s visit, raised scepticism from many African leaders over the US’ intention. The US maintains that AFRICOM’s purpose is to train African peacekeepers and to coordinate US efforts to assist Africa. Up to date, Liberia is the only African country that indicated an interest in hosting AFRICOM.
COULD IT FINALLY BE AFRICA’S TIME?
Although Bush’s visit to the continent had some ulterior motives largely driven by the US’ strategic interests, it still held potential benefits for the continent. For instance, besides gifts of mosquito nets and school textbooks, Bush’s visit could spark new interest in the continent (and in particular in the five countries visited) by international investors. In addition, it signals that the US has the need to reaffirm its strategic interest Africa.
African leaders should seize the opportunity to leverage their countries and use the interest from the two superpowers, the US and China, as a bargaining chip in the 21st century. With an abundance of resources, and a global demand for energy, this new scenario presents Africa with the opportunity to bring in economic benefits and development initiatives to the people.
Certainly, the US-China competition is being perceived in some circles as the only ace card currently available to African countries. This was expressed during a press interview with Ghanaian President John Kufour who stated his feelings that China comes to the African continent not as a colonial power, but as a guest. With China now ranking as Africa’s third biggest trading partner after the European Union and the US, Bush’s visit is certainly needed to protect US interests and prevent the growing notion of an alternate “look east” policy.
(1) Monique Theron is a Great Lakes/Central Africa & West Africa Researcher in Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s Africa Watch Unit. She is also a lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa (officesa@consultancyafrica.com).
Visit Consultancy African Intelligence
Subscribe to one of our Newsletters Today
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Consultancy Africa Intelligence - Africa Watch Newsletter - March 2008.pdf | 155.16 KB |